The caravan from the Kingdom of Israel finally set off from Xi County, and the scale was not small.
There are thousands of people, thousands of things to keep out the cold, and thousands of boxes of clam oil. Of course, they are all transported by horses.
The road from Hanzhong Mansion to the Western Regions is actually not easy to walk.
We must first go to the Guanzhong Plain, then pass through Qinzhou (Tianshui) and then pass through Jincheng (Lanzhou).
After passing Jincheng, we passed through the Hexi Corridor to Yumen Pass.
There are five roads from Xingyuanfu to Guanzhong Plain, among which Chencang Road is the closest, but they are all steep mountain roads and the most difficult to walk.
Although Baoxie Road is a little further away, it is the smoothest road, so caravans usually take this road.
Pu Da and Hu Liang were at the front. They also each led a horse wearing something to keep out the cold, and came to the pass of Jinquan Town.
If the scale is so large, will the barbarians let it go? The two looked at each other.
Unexpectedly, the Hu centurion looked at the road guide in their hands and waved to let Puda and Hu Liang pass.
Xu Te was also among them, leading a horse with something to keep out the cold. He was worried about being recognized.
After all, he passed this pass twice to go to Hanzhong Mansion as an envoy.
The barbarian looked at the man whose face was half covered with a turban, looked at him briefly, and waved him through.
Xu Te was more worried. After all, there were so many Hu people at the defensive pass that no one noticed him.
But Xu Te still didn't dare to take off his turban because Hanzhong Mansion was not far ahead.
The commander-in-chief, staff and bodyguards of Hanzhong Mansion can still recognize him.
Tap, tap, tap, large caravans from small countries passed by Hanzhongfu Avenue in an endless stream.
Alibaba, Xinda, and Barbaris also stood on the side of the avenue, watching the horse teams passing by one after another.
"Fat sheep, fat sheep, fat sheep." Alibaba looked as greedy as possible.
Xianda's eyes widened, and he almost drooled: "Silver, silver, these are just white coins."
"Haha, haha." Barbaris almost laughed out loud and hurriedly covered his mouth, "Since they are coming to our door, we can only accept it."
Alibaba also had a smile on his face: "Where can we get rid of them? Is Baoxie Road okay?"
"Out of Jincheng (also known as Lanzhou), it is suitable for cavalry. From Xingyuan Mansion to Jincheng, it is not suitable for cavalry." Barbaris thought for a while and shook his head.
His eyes were all fixed on the bundles of goods on the horse, which seemed to have turned into white silver.
Xianda looked at the caravan and the barbarians around him. He smiled coldly and asked, "Can we contact you?"
"Already contacted." Alibaba nodded, "This is no problem."
"How to divide it?" Xianda asked casually, staring at the goods on the caravan's horse.
Alibaba's face twitched, showing bitterness: "They asked for 70%, and we asked for 30%."
"Why don't you grab it?" Xianda almost yelled and hurriedly covered his mouth.
Although his voice became softer, Alibaba still heard him.
Alibaba's voice was full of pain: "It was them who robbed, and we sold the stolen goods."
"They have to fight each other desperately. We just need to contact the next buyer. Of course, they will get 70%." Barbaris patted Xin Da on the shoulder.
Alibaba nodded with a hint of luck on his face: "I worked hard for this 30%, and the other party only gave me 10%."
"The appearance of the barbarian people is too ugly. They didn't see that we bought the wolf god and the shaman god and put all the money we had accumulated over the years into them." Xin Da couldn't help complaining.
Alibaba nodded: "The other party only gave us 30% because we bought the wolf god and shaman god for them. There is no need to worry about the sales of these cold-proof things."
The three of them finished talking and looked at each other with bitter expressions on their faces.
When doing business, the Han people always talk about the difficulties faced by the Han people, and they always think that their hands are cramped when they count money.
How did they understand that the Semu people also had difficulties in doing business, and the difficulties were even greater? They had to constantly feed the Hu people around them.
The Han people have no idea that the barbarians are just a bunch of wolves that cannot be fed enough.
Chen Hua was the chief registrar. He and Xu Te came out of Hanzhong Mansion and entered Baoxie Road in Qinling Mountains.
After entering Baoxie Road, they stopped making pretense, put the cold-proof things on another war horse, and everyone got on the horse.
Hu Liang and Puda looked at Qinling with worries in their eyes.
The two came to Chen Hua together and expressed their concerns.
Looking at the endless mountains in front of him, Chen Hua nodded and asked Xu Te, "Will the Hu people attack from here?"
"The advantage of the Hu people is the cavalry. The terrain here is steep and not suitable for cavalry attacks." Xu Te looked at it and turned to Chen Hua to express his opinion.
Chen Hua looked around repeatedly, still worried in his eyes: "What will happen if the barbarians throw stones from the mountain?"
"This worry is justified. Send the order, the horses keep their distance, and pay attention to the top of the mountain. The barbarians may attack with stones." Xu Te looked up at the mountains on both sides and gave the order immediately.
The messenger received the order and sent the order to all directions.
In fact, their worries were unnecessary. The advantage of the Hu people was the cavalry.
The Baoxie Road is flat, which is conducive to the cavalry's advance, but not conducive to attacking on the top of the mountain.
If it is really Chen Cangdao, it is possible.
The terrain of Chencang Road is steep and more than 500 checkpoints can be set up. Only one person can pass the checkpoint and no one can open it.
Half a month later, they finally arrived at Jincheng and saw the turbid Yellow River and fewer and fewer green mountains, gradually turning into bare red mountains.
Han and Hu people live together here, including the original Tubo people, Han people and Xixia people, with various accents.
Orchid Tea House and Restaurant, with bare breasts exposed and shouting loudly, has a different style.
Jincheng was almost always the territory of the Han people. It was called Jincheng in the Han and Tang dynasties, and was called Qinfeng Road in the Song Dynasty.
After the Song Dynasty moved southward, it was under the jurisdiction of the Jin Kingdom, which later became a highly Sinicized country.
After the fall of the Jin Kingdom, the number of barbarian people gradually increased, but Han people still accounted for about half.
Therefore, Chinese is the dominant language, but the pronunciation is different from that of Xixian.
Although Xu Te and Chen Hua did not understand some of the accents, this was not a problem at all for the two businessmen Hu Liang and Pu Da.
This is the most important node of the Silk Road, because the Silk Road has two roads.
One is through the Hexi Corridor, which is later Gansu through Yumen Pass.
The second is through Qingtang City, through Qinghai Lake, Dulan, Delingha, Golmud, to Ruoqiang, through the vast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to Taklimakan, and finally into Xinjiang to Shanshan, Qiemo, Hotan, and then merges into the main Road, coincides with the western section of the traditional Silk Road.
The rugged mountain road for half a month was exhausting and we couldn't stay in the inn, so we had to camp.
Hu Liang and Puda found Xu Te and Chen Hua, opened the map, pointed at the map and said: "To the west is Hezhou (Linxia), and beyond that is Ningzhou (Xining). Our goal is Ningzhou."
Xu Te and Chen Hua looked at the map and nodded.
"Have a good rest tonight, be energetic, and set out for Ningzhou tomorrow." Xu Te said to the messenger.
Chen Hua looked at the already dark outside and reminded: "Be careful of barbarian sneak attacks."
"Of course, Zimei (Chen Hua's alias), you will stay at midnight and I will stay at midnight." Xu Te said to Chen Hua.
Chen Hua shook his head and said: "Zi Yi (characterized by Xu Te), you have worked hard these days. You will be up for half the night, and I will be up for the rest of the night."
There is no problem when people insist on being late. It is the second half of the night when they think about people. Therefore, the most testing time for people on duty is in the second half of the night.
"I am the chief officer, so I should take the lead." Xu Te shook his head and said to Chen Hua, "I have come to sleep, and I will go to sleep."
After saying that, he yawned, undressed and got into the sleeping bag.
Chen Hua shook his head and had no choice but to add a piece of fairy charcoal to the fairy furnace and brew a cup of strong tea with the teapot.
Chen Hua took a sip of strong tea and walked around the camp with a native dog and a lantern.
Alibaba hugged an orchid from one side, opened the window and stretched out his head.
He looked at the camp in the distance and shook his head: "These southern barbarians must be too careful."
"There are dogs and night watchers, so it doesn't matter if we let them live one more day." After Xianda finished speaking, he made some pottery on an Orchid hill, making Orchid laugh.
Hu Ji, who was also accompanied by Barbaris, twisted violently, causing Hu Ji to scream.
He looked at the tents in the night and nodded: "By tomorrow, these will be ours."
After saying that, he laughed loudly and twisted on Orchid Hill again, making Orchid scream again.
The next day, the caravan finished breakfast and set off along the Yellow River towards Ningzhou.
Xu Te walked for about half an hour when he suddenly pointed his ears: "That's wrong."
After saying that, he jumped off the horse and put his ears to the ground.
"These are cavalry, numbering at least a thousand." He then shouted loudly.
Chen Hua took out his clairvoyance and looked to the east: "The smoke and dust are billowing behind, it should be the Hu cavalry."
"This is not a Hu cavalry, but a horse bandit." Xu Te immediately corrected Chen Hua.
Chen Hua nodded and said to the messenger: "The messenger said that the horse bandits are coming and are ready to fight. Remember, these are horse bandits, not Hu cavalry."
Even if the Hu people want to go out to cavalry, they cannot wear military uniforms and can only dress up as horse bandits.
This is very important. Neither side is wearing military uniforms. The security team is dressed as a businessman and wears leather armor underneath.
Neither party had a bad relationship, it was just private.
If you wear military uniform, this is a formal battle.
Zhaojiazhuang and the Hu people do not want to fight now and have signed an agreement, so they must not wear military uniforms.
Meng Lang, the Minister of War of the Kingdom of Israel, was also inside, and he immediately started to whistle.
"The horse bandits are here, the horse bandits are here, get ready to fight." After saying that, he took out the broken Hu Dao from the scabbard.
This group of caravans was composed of two groups, the security group and the Israelite Kingdom soldiers each numbering 500.
Hearing that the horse bandits were coming, the cavalry soldiers of the Kingdom of Israel drew their ragged knives one after another.
Although they took out their ragged knives, some of the soldiers couldn't help but knock their teeth against each other, and some even trembled.
Not only people are like this, but even the war horses are not quiet, they keep raising their hooves and swaying their bodies.
After all, they were a group of new recruits who had only been trained for about a month and had never been on the battlefield at all.
Meng Lang was actually very scared, but he was a minister and had no way out.
He immediately took out his tin trumpet and shouted loudly: "Horse bandits are human beings too. What are you afraid of? The security team is still here."
When these soldiers of the turbulent Kingdom of Israel heard Meng Lang's loud roar, they couldn't help but look at the soldiers of the security group around them.
Seeing the orderly soldiers of the security group, they were all ashamed and immediately became quiet. At the same time, they held the broken husks in their hands and reined in their horses.
Hu Liang and Puda had already taken out their ragged swords, clamped their horses between their legs, and looked coldly into the distance.
After all, the two of them have been doing business for many years, have encountered horse bandits many times, and have already become as hard as iron.
Xu Te and Chen Hua looked at each other, took out the tin trumpet and shouted loudly: "Inside the Shangma, among the soldiers of the Kingdom of Israel, and on the outside are the soldiers of the security group."
After all, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Israel are just new soldiers. When encountering the crazy barbarian cavalry, not only can they not help, but they may become defeated troops, which is very likely to break up the formation of the security regiment's cavalry.
The security team must use the strongest will and the most ferocious defense to resist the attacks of the barbarians.
Hearing the command from the camp leader, boom, boom, boom, the war horses and merchant horses of the entire caravan moved into action.
There was no one on the Shang horses, only things to keep out the cold and food. They seemed to know that war was coming and moved around anxiously.
The soldiers of the Kingdom of Israel drove the Shang horses toward the center, and at the same time surrounded the Shang horses tightly in the middle.
Xu Te also took out his clairvoyance and saw the horse bandit taking out a machete, followed by billowing dust.
Cavalry relies on momentum. Without momentum, it would not be cavalry.
Overjoyed, he drew out his sword, raised it high, and shouted: "This is an ordinary cavalry, not a bow cavalry. Charge me."
After saying that, he took the lead in grabbing the horse's belly, holding the horse's reins in one hand, and rushed towards the east.
Chen Hua followed closely behind, also brandishing a Hu-killing knife with one hand and holding the war horse with the other.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, the other soldiers of the security group also followed their formation commander, fire chief and even corps commander, holding Hu-killing knives, shouting and killing the horse bandits.
Hu Liang and Pu Da hesitated for a moment, then said to Meng Lang, "You will guard Shang Ma here while we go."
Seeing the security team's horses galloping forward, the cavalry horses of the Kingdom of Israel kept snoring and snorting, eager to try.
Meng Lang had no choice but to rein in his horse, raised his ragged sword in his hand, and looked at the backs of Hu Liang and Puda.
He more or less wanted to step forward, but after all, the merchant horses here needed cavalry to guard them and could not be lost, so he had to sigh secretly.
More importantly, the cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel are all new recruits, and he doesn't know whether they can adapt. He doesn't have the confidence.
Tap, tap, tap, Xu Te's horse ran faster and faster, and he could already see the face of the horse bandit.
"Kill, kill, kill." Xu Te felt his blood boiling all over, shouting and speeding up his horse.
Xu Te raised his beard-killing knife high, his eyes red, staring closely at the horse bandit running at the front.
He had already seen that the ones running at the front were at least centurions and other leaders.
The opponent also raised his machete high and slashed at him fiercely.
They also don't have helmets or leather armor. They wear leather jackets and are dressed like horse bandits.
But Xu Te did not believe that the other party was a horse bandit. He saw the fighting figures of the Hu people from the opponent's momentum.
About a hundred breaths later, the horses from both sides finally collided.
Dang dang, the two sides struck each other with swords, and at the high speed of the war horses, the two sides passed each other.
There were no casualties on either side during the first blow. The horses were turned around and the two sides met again.
Ding-dang-dang, jingle-dang, Ding-dang, Xu Te and the other three centurions started to chop.
Chen Hua also met a horse bandit who was very skilled. The two sides met for the first time, but there was no winner.
Deputy battalion leader Zhao Yang felt a powerful force coming from him when his Shahu Dao touched the opponent's scimitar.
The opponent is so strong, he is at least a captain of three hundred, or even a captain of a thousand.
Alibaba, Barbaris, and Xinanda couldn't help but smile coldly when they saw that the other party's cavalry actually took the initiative to attack.
He looked at the fighting situation in front of him, pointed the machete in his hand at both warring parties, and laughed loudly and said: "The ones who can take the initiative are obviously the security groups, and the ones who stay behind are obviously the cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel."
"Alibaba really had a clever plan. He used ordinary cavalry to lure out the security regiment cavalry. The only ones left on guard were timid recruits." Barbaris kept complimenting and laughing along with him.
There were horse bandits beside them, watching the battle. They did not take out their scimitars, but reined in their horses.
Xianda came to a Hu man dressed as a horse bandit who was watching the battle and bowed his hand.
He said respectfully: "Report to the general that these new recruits are weak soldiers and have turned into fat sheep. Please kill all of these fat sheep."
"Warriors, all attack." The barbarian dressed as a horse bandit laughed loudly, took out a bow in his hand, clamped his war horse, bypassed the two warring parties, and took the lead to attack.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, the barbarian horsemen dressed as horse bandits, holding curved bows, killed the cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel guarding the merchant horses.
After about thirty strikes, Xu Te's opponent felt a lightness in his hand and couldn't help but be startled.
It turned out that the scimitar in his hand had been broken into two pieces without realizing it, and only half of the scimitar was left in his hand.
Xu Te was not willing to let go of this opportunity, so he waved his killing knife.
His opponent only felt himself flying into the sky, then looked at half of his body, shook a few times, and finally fell off the horse.
After more than thirty moves, Chen Hua also killed his opponent.
Xu Te's sharp eyes saw another horse bandit rushing over next to him, and he couldn't help shouting: "Qingqi."
He wanted to rush over, but suddenly heard a gust of cold wind, and subconsciously blocked it with the killing knife in his hand.
There were many horse bandits and cavalry. He quickly turned his horse's head, not daring to be careless at all, and concentrated on fighting the barbarian in front of him.
Among the cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel, Meng Lang saw the cavalry rushing over. He looked at it with clairvoyance and his expression changed drastically: "Archmen."
They were new cavalry who had only been trained for about a month. They were stunned when faced with the barbarian horse archers and forgot to give orders.
Boom, boom, boom, the barbarians dressed as horse bandits were getting closer and closer.
Five hundred steps, four hundred steps, he could already see the figure of the barbarian with his naked eyes.
He was in a daze, and the other cavalrymen of the Kingdom of Israel were even more dazed. They were all trembling, not knowing what to do.
The chief clerk, Yun Shuchen, put down his clairvoyance, took out his tin trumpet, and shouted loudly: "Ready for the crossbow."
Yun Shuchen was not from Zhuhu, but a Han Chinese and a member of the security group.
Like him, among the cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel, there are 10% of the security regiment cavalry, either the chief clerk or the fire chief and the corps commander.
There is no way to do this. The cavalry of the Kingdom of Israel is too weak, so the only way is to use the strong to lead the weak.
Normally, Yun Shuchen would not seize power, but at critical moments, he could take command of Meng Lang, the Israeli Minister of War.
After Yun Shuchen finished shouting, he put the Hu-killing knife into its scabbard.
He took out the crossbow from his pocket and pointed it at the attacking barbarian archers.
Meng Lang seemed to be waking up from a dream, and he used his crossbow to replace the ragged knife.
At this time, the other security regiment cavalry shouted to change their crossbows and immediately changed them.
Under the leadership of the soldiers of the security group, these soldiers of the Kingdom of Israel woke up from a dream and replaced them one after another.
As they changed the arm crossbow, they kept shaking and aiming, thinking to themselves, is this effective?
Boom, boom, boom, the barbarians dressed as horse bandits were getting closer and closer.
Two hundred steps, one hundred steps later, the barbarians' bow cavalry had already started firing.
They use the momentum of their horses to not only increase their range, but also to scare the opponent with their overwhelming momentum.
They were laughing while firing, but the other party didn't move at all. Could it be that they were stunned?
